FOUR OF OUR BEST NEW IDEAS FOR THE C-SUITE

You’ve bought your AI chips, or maybe you’ve upgraded your cloud contract. You’ve started to rethink your IT stack. But is that enough? In our experience, it’s never just about the tech. To extract full value from today’s technologies, companies need much more than hardware and software. They need new ways of thinking about talent, growth, leadership, and change management. This edition of the CEO Shortlist highlights several of the elements needed to get the most out of generative AI and quantum computing. We hope you enjoy the read.

—Liz and Homayoun

What’s new

Gen AI wealth is built on workplace health. The savviest among us are already using gen AI to knock out busywork. So why are heavy gen AI users increasingly likely to leave their jobs due to burnout? It’s likely because the work gen AI can’t do takes more mental energy to complete—and the elite employees who do it need time to recharge to keep performing at their best. Healthy working cultures will matter even more in the future than they have in the past. 

Keep busy with five actions to maximize employee well-being in “To defend against disruption, build a thriving workforce,” a new article by Aaron De Smet, Brooke Weddle, and colleagues.

What’s now

Put away your magic wand. Organizational growth doesn’t happen just like that. Executives at the helm of high-growth organizations actively choose growth every day—especially amid uncertainty. We’ve seen a much steeper growth curve in companies that made bold bets during downturns, including on new technologies, than in those that played it safe. 

But don’t mistake bold for reckless. Learn to walk the line with “Six strategies for growth outperformance,” the latest episode of McKinsey’s Inside the Strategy Room podcast, featuring Jill Zucker and colleagues.

What’s next

The quantum advantage. No, it’s not the latest Bond movie. It’s what the world’s leading companies are pursuing through investment and research in quantum computing, sensing, and communication. Our third annual Quantum Technology Monitor reviews the burgeoning opportunities, the flow of new investments, and the startling technological advances. 

Leap into the Monitor’s key takeaways with “Steady progress in approaching the quantum advantage,” by Rodney Zemmel and colleagues.

What’s needed

Time is money. When it comes to new technologies such as gen AI, speed is a strategy. But whoever invented time isn’t making more of it, as business leaders know well. Our new research reveals six ways that CFOs and other top leaders find the time to not just do their core jobs but also serve as thought partners to CEOs on topics well beyond finance, including new technologies. 

Set your watch to “Six ways CFOs find the time to unlock their full potential,” by Ankur Agrawal and colleagues.

We hope you find these ideas inspiring and helpful. See you next time with four more McKinsey ideas for the CEO and others in the C-suite.

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